Awning Improvements

I was in the office since last Wednesday until Sunday, as Louise has been away for a few days. It went well. We were living in the house. We had hoped that the caravan wheel bearings would have been done while we were there.

Unfortunately the wheel bearing parts weren’t right for the  caravan and so it hasn’t been fixed yet. We are very frustrated. It is going in on Monday to have the work done. Now the toyota has a warning light coming up, so Eddie took it in to find out what it was. It is something to do with a manifold with valves in it. Instead of being open or closed they are flapping open and shut, so that has to be fixed. That is happening on Thursday and Friday. It is very frustrating, as we can’t go anywhere until it is sorted out. 

Eddie has done some modifications to the awning and now it isn’t flapping and lifting up like it was. The guttering was lifting up and down in the wind, so that there was a lot of pressure on the part of the awning that runs the arms up and down when we put it out.  The poles were from an extension cleaning brush. He cut the heads off the top and made a plate to attach them to the guttering. They work very well. They were on special at Bunnings, so a bonus. 

Above is the attachment Eddie made to attach the pole to the edge of the guttering.

The pole from further back. Noodles holding the fabric more firmly.

A closer view of the noodles on the rafters.

The wifi stopped working properly while we were at Louise's house, so Wireless Nation sent us a new one. We were able to get everything hooked up to it except the printer for some reason. Luckily we have the cord that goes from computer to printer, so all is not lost. We were very impressed with the speed that the new router came. It was only 2 days from ordering until it arrived. It comes via rural delivery too and that is usually a bit slower than normal deliveries

Bikes and Kayaks

We are back at Thornton for a few weeks now that we have left the Mount. We aren't missing the wind, that is for sure.

I don't think I have put a photo of our new bikes on to this blog; so here they are.

Eddie was taking the kayak off the roof when we got back here and broke the high stop brake light on the truck. We went into supercheap and got some tape to repair to keep the water out until we can get a new one. Probably from a wrecker, but he hasn't had any luck so far. We may have to pay about $400 to get a new one at this rate. Today he got a roller to help him get the kayak on and off without breaking anything else.

Above is the kayak he bought to go fishing on.

The Ulysses motorcycle club came out on Sunday after a ride and had a bbq lunch. They were raising funds for the St Johns Ambulance this year. They do a charity event every year. Mike and Linda Mexted were there. We went to their place afterwards and had a drink with them and some of their Ulysses friends. We had a nice afternoon. We came home with some leftover sausages and some of Mike and Linda’s eggs from their hens. 

Cruise Ships at Night

 It has been windy over the past few days and we are fed up with it. It has gone to the north on Tuesday, so it wasn't so bad for a change. It is nice today too with hardly any wind at all. We are starting to think it is as windy as the Wairarapa is.

Some friends came to visit on Sunday and we went to the fishing club for lunch. Eddie and I joined last week. We had a nice meal. I had an Asian smoked duck salad. Eddie had fish and chips; Allan had chicken satay and Jeaneen had a chicken burger. The restaurant has lovely views out over the harbour. We could see some P class yachts zipping about across the other side.

Later, Eddie's sister and her husband arrived to stay for a few nights. They are on the other side of the camping ground, so won’t get wind unless it comes from the north, like today. 

A cruise ship went out last night and looked very pretty in the dark. It was the Diamond Princess.

She looks like a floating city.

I went up to the top of Mount Maunganui during the week. It is a steep climb, so I took my time and rested on a bench half way up.

A vew of Matakana Island from half way up.

View from the top out to Motiti Island in the distance.